How to Remove Yourself From SmartBackgroundChecks

To opt out of SmartBackgroundChecks, go to the site’s own removal or privacy page (linked in the footer), search for your record, select it, and confirm the request through the link the site emails you. The removal is free, each record usually needs its own request, and you should search yourself again every few months because new data can create a new record.

This guide covers how to find every record that’s yours, how to submit the removal safely, what it does and doesn’t cover, and how to stop the listing from returning. For a wider plan across many sites, see our guide to removing yourself from people-search sites.

What SmartBackgroundChecks shows

SmartBackgroundChecks is a free people-search site. Unlike sites that show a teaser and charge for the rest, it tends to display a lot for free: full name, age, current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and lists of relatives and associates.

The data typically comes from public records, phone and address directories and commercial data sources, stitched together into one profile. Because the page is free and indexable, it can rank on Google for your name, so a stranger searching for you may land on it without ever visiting the site directly.

SmartBackgroundChecks looks and works much like several other free people-search sites, including FastPeopleSearch and TruePeopleSearch. If you’ve used their removal pages, this one will feel familiar. It doesn’t mean they share one database, so treat each site as a separate job.

Step 1: Find every record that’s yours

1. Gather your identifiers. Write down every name you’ve used (maiden, married, nicknames, with and without a middle initial), your current and previous addresses, and your phone numbers and email addresses.
2. Search by name and location. Search your name with your city or state. Open any record where the age, addresses and relatives match you.
3. Search by phone number. Reverse phone searches often surface a record under a slightly different name.
4. Search by address. Searching your street address shows everyone the site links to that home, which can reveal a second record for you, or records for family members who may want to remove theirs.
5. Save each record. Copy the record URL, take a screenshot and log the date in a note or spreadsheet.

Duplicates are common. A move, a typo in an old record or a phone number registered to someone else in your household can each produce a separate listing.

Step 2: Submit the SmartBackgroundChecks removal

1. Open the real site. Type the site’s address into your browser instead of clicking a search ad. Scroll to the footer and look for a link such as “remove my record,” “privacy,” “opt out” or “do not sell.”
2. Start the removal flow. Free people-search sites of this type typically ask for an email address, agreement to their terms and a captcha before letting you search for the record to remove.
3. Find and select your record. Search again inside the removal flow, open the record that matches your saved one and choose the option to remove it.
4. Confirm by email. Open the confirmation email and click the link. Check spam and promotions folders. Links can expire, so don’t leave it for days.
5. Repeat for each record. Run the flow once for every record on your list.

Use a separate email address for privacy requests. It keeps your main inbox out of people-search databases and makes confirmation emails easy to find.

After a few days, reload each saved URL. A removed record should no longer show your details. If one is still there after a couple of weeks, submit it again and note the date.

What the removal covers and what it doesn’t

Item	Removed?
The record you selected and confirmed	Typically yes, after you click the confirmation link.
Duplicate records for you on the same site	No. Each needs its own request.
Your listing on look-alike free sites	No. Similar-looking sites have their own removal pages.
Records created later from new data	No. Search again periodically.
The Google result for the old page	Not straight away. Google updates after recrawling.

A removal hides your record from public search on that site. If you live in a state with a comprehensive privacy law, you may also have a right to ask the company to delete personal information it holds about you. Look for a privacy request or “do not sell” link, and see our guide to “do not sell my personal information” requests for how these work in general.

Check the look-alike sites next

Free people-search sites often show very similar data in very similar layouts. If you were on SmartBackgroundChecks, check these next, each with its own removal page:

• FastPeopleSearch
• TruePeopleSearch
• CyberBackgroundChecks
• FastBackgroundCheck, SearchPeopleFree and USPhoneBook

Our data broker opt-out list puts these and the paid people-search brands in a sensible order, with a simple tracker to keep your progress straight.

Why records come back and how to keep up

People-search sites refresh their data from outside sources. When a new address, number or name variation comes in, it may not be linked to the record you removed, so a fresh record with a new URL can appear.

• Search yourself every three to four months, and soon after you move or change numbers.
• Use the same names, phone numbers and addresses you searched the first time.
• Remove any new record the same day, and keep your tracker up to date.

Clean up the Google result

Once the page no longer shows your details, use Google’s “Refresh outdated content” tool so Google updates the snippet or drops the result. Google’s Results about you tool can also alert you when your phone number, home address or email appears in search results and let you request that Google remove those results. That doesn’t delete the source page, but it changes what someone sees when they search your name.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client.

Anita, a real estate appraiser, notices that searching her name on Google brings up a SmartBackgroundChecks page listing her home address, her mobile number and her teenage son’s name.

• She searches by her phone number and address and finds a second record under her maiden name that still shows a previous address.
• She opens the site’s footer removal link, enters a dedicated privacy email, finds both records and requests removal for each.
• She confirms both emails, one of which had landed in her spam folder.
• A few days later both URLs no longer show her details. Google still shows her address in a snippet, so she submits a refresh request and it updates.
• She then checks the look-alike sites and finds herself on two of them, which she removes the same way.

Her son’s name appeared as a relative on her record. Once her record was removed, that link to her address went with it.

Common mistakes

• Stopping at the first record. Always search by phone and address, not just name.
• Missing the confirmation email. Check spam. The removal typically isn’t processed until you click the link.
• Assuming look-alike sites are covered. Similar design doesn’t mean shared removal. Check each site.
• Paying someone to do a free removal once. A paid service can be useful for ongoing monitoring across many sites, but a single removal here is free.
• Treating it as permanent. Set a reminder to check again.

When to get help

Most people can handle this themselves. Help makes sense when you’re on many sites, when there’s a safety concern, or when people-search pages are one part of a bigger problem with your search results. Our guide on whether data removal services are worth it sets out what paid services actually do. Our personal reputation management service covers opt-outs, re-checks and the wider cleanup, and we’ll be honest about what can be removed and what needs monitoring.

Frequently asked questions

Is the SmartBackgroundChecks opt-out free?

Yes. The site’s own removal page doesn’t require payment or an account. You typically need an email address to receive a confirmation link.

How long does SmartBackgroundChecks take to remove my record?

Once you confirm by email, removals are usually processed within days, though timing varies. Google may keep showing the old result until it recrawls the page or you request a refresh.

Does removing my SmartBackgroundChecks record remove me from FastPeopleSearch too?

Don’t assume so. Free people-search sites often look alike, but each has its own removal page. Search each site separately and submit a request wherever you appear.

Why is my information back on SmartBackgroundChecks?

Usually because new data created a new record with a different URL, rather than the old one being restored. Search again with all your name variations and remove the new record the same way.